Land Cover Information for European Environmental Modelling

Land cover maps have been used to assess the sensitivity of ecosystems in support of European policies to mitigate air pollution. Within the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), a protocol was signed in 1994 to further reduce the emissions of sulphur oxides, while in 1999, a protocol was negotiated to abate acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone. These two protocols were the first to take into account information on the sensitivity of ecosystems, in addition to economic and technical knowledge about the cost and potential of installing pollution abatement equipment in European energy combustion facilities.